April 2007/3

Bermudian insurer Aspen has completed its search for a new chief financial officer with the appointment of Richard Houghton.

The failed, London-listed (re)insurer Alea Group Holdings Ltd is set to be bought by private equity-backed FIN Acquisition Ltd (FIN) in a £162mn management buy-out.

Royal Indemnity, previously the US arm of Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA), has settled with MBIA Inc, one of the plaintiffs in the Student Finance Corporation litigation.

Lloyd's has announced tie-ups with the outsourcing firm Xchanging and the trading platform RI3K that will enable its new Chinese reinsurance operation to trade electronically.

Lloyd's has taken measures to ease the passage of brokers wishing to access the market as it continues to execute its rolling three-year strategy of delivering the "platform of choice".

The multinational broking giants – namely Marsh, Aon, Willis et al – may still be suffering from the effects of a Spitzer-induced hangover, but elsewhere it is becoming difficult to ignore the growing interest in the industry from prospective acquirers.